


Serendipity

by jaehyunfirstlove



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Fluff and Smut, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Love Triangle, Pining, Unprotected Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:48:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29768166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaehyunfirstlove/pseuds/jaehyunfirstlove
Summary: It’s senior year and you have no time for distractions, so you make a pact with your best friend, Jaehyun, that you both won’t date and just help each other make it through the year. You weren’t prepared for your brother’s friend to show up and throw your world into chaos. Will you make it out unscathed, or will you gain a boyfriend and lose a friend in the process? (More importantly, will you graduate from college :)
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Reader, Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas/Reader
Kudos: 14





	Serendipity

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr

You’ll never forget that day.

It was already a few weeks into the semester and someone was still moving in, boxes and other miscellaneous belongings stacked beside the elevator. You found it odd that someone would start school so late but you just shrugged your shoulders, thinking it had nothing to do with you and just waited patiently for the next elevator.

“Noona!” you turned at the sound of your brother’s voice, knowing he would be the only one who would call you that in public.

“I told you to stop calling me that when we’re at school,” you rolled your eyes at him but he just laughed, completely ignoring you.

“Look who it is!” he smacked your shoulder and pointed excitedly behind him. You craned your head to look around him, and met eyes with a familiar face. Only it was much handsomer and more grown up than you remembered.

“Hi noona,” he shyly waved with one hand, holding a box handily with the other.

“Lucas?” you recognized him but at the same time you were shocked at the change. You only remembered a grubby and chubby little kid who wreaked havoc with your younger brother, the two of them together a swirling tornado of flailing limbs and piercing shrieks, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The very memory of it made your eye twitch.

Yet here he was standing in front of you, much taller than you, that cute face from childhood transformed into the chiseled features that made people swoon. Indeed you felt your knees weak at the sight of him, noticing how the muscles in his arm bulged as he held the box.

He blushed as you stared, and you metaphorically picked your jaw up off the floor as your brother went on chattering.

“... came back from abroad and he was lucky to get in! And since I didn’t have a roommate they paired him with me! Everything works out in the end, isn’t that cool?” Mark was talking animatedly, practically vibrating with excitement at the prospect of tearing it up again with his childhood friend.

“Yeah, that’s awesome,” you replied, swallowing thickly. This would not do. You had no time to be attracted to anyone, let alone your brother’s friend.

“Well, it was nice to see you again, noona,” Lucas smiled at you. The elevator doors had opened and they had both stepped in.

“Y-yeah, nice to see you too, Lucas,” you stuttered, and his smile grew until it reached his eyes, “and you can call me Y/N!” you called out, but the elevator doors were already closing.

“Shit.” You muttered under your breath, your brain already swirling with thoughts of this new complication.

“Who was that?”

“Hm?” you turned to see your best friend, Jaehyun, come up to stand beside you.

“You look like you just saw a ghost,” he chuckled, elbowing you playfully.

“Not a ghost,” you replied thoughtfully, “just Mark’s friend, but he’s grown up.”

Jaehyun laughed at you. “Well duh, that’s what people do? Grow?”

“No, I mean he’s  _ grown _ . Like ‘holy shit he’s a man’ type of grown.” You shook your head at the thought of it, eyes glazed over, completely missing how Jaehyun frowned as he watched your reaction.

“Ah,” was all he said, before he suddenly smacked you in the arm, jolting you out of your reverie. “Hey, but remember our pact. No dating!” he stated firmly.

“Pfft,” you scoffed, “I’m not attracted to him  _ at all _ ,” you said, a bit too loudly. Jaehyun eyed you, completely unconvinced, especially since you could feel your cheeks heating up.

“Well, whatever,” he shrugged, turning away from you so you couldn’t see the disappointment in his face. “Let’s go to class.”

\---

For the next few weeks you avoided Lucas as much as you could, which wasn’t too hard since he was a sophomore and had no classes anywhere near you. But that also meant you had to avoid your brother, since they were roommates.

[Noona, why can’t you just drop it off? I need it so bad!!]

[I can’t go all the way to your dorm today, just meet me outside the cafe and I’ll give it to you]

You put your phone down on the table, sighing at Mark’s less than enthusiastic text in response.

“What’s up?” Jaehyun asked, looking up from his books.

“Oh Mark needed this fan,” you pointed to the bag at your feet, “I just told him to come here and pick it up.”

“I was wondering why you were lugging that thing all over campus,” Jaehyun peeked underneath the table at the fan tucked messily into a battered Trader Joe's reusable shopping bag. “Why didn’t you just bring it to his dorm?”

You shook your head vehemently. “Oh no no no, I am  _ not _ going there. Can’t do it. Won’t do it.”

Jaehyun watched you carefully as you nervously played with your hair. “Is it because of  _ him _ ?” he finally asked.

You nodded absentmindedly, “I can’t afford any distractions right now, right? No dating, like you said!” You slammed your fist onto the table forcefully, but Jaehyun didn’t flinch. He just stared at you.

“You like him that much.” It was meant to be a question but came out more like a statement, and in a tone you’d never heard from your best friend. It sounded almost accusatory.

“Hey! Can you blame me? Have you seen him?” you went into defense mode, completely misinterpreting his tone of voice. He just turned his face away from you, unable to hide the hurt he was feeling. You just thought he was upset that you might be threatening the pact you both had made so you tried to smooth things over. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to date him. But it’s better that I don’t see him too much, you know?”

“Good idea,” was all Jaehyun said, before he turned his attention back to his books.

“Noona!” you looked up to see Mark walking towards you, and you were about to rebuke him for calling you that when you saw who was with him.

“Hi noona,” Lucas smiled, coming to stand beside Mark. Your heart was beating out of your chest at the sight of him, your throat suddenly dry.

“H-hi guys,” you managed, before turning to Mark, “I told you to meet me outside?”

“Sorry we wanted a drink,” he turned to Jaehyun, “hey hyung, you remember my friend, Lucas?” he gestured towards Lucas excitedly.

“Of course,” Jaehyun said politely, “Nice to see you again, man,” he held out his hand and Lucas shook it enthusiastically.

“I heard you were at this school too, this is so cool!” Lucas exclaimed, “We’re all back together again!”

Despite Lucas and Mark’s bright demeanours you felt a tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. You were puzzled as to where it could be coming from, looking from your brother to Lucas to Jaehyun. No one seemed to be giving anything away, until Jaehyun locked eyes with you and you saw something flash for a split second.

It was a look you’d never seen before, that you couldn’t quite place. Was he angry? Did he not like Lucas? You went back through your memories but you couldn’t remember them not getting along, Jaehyun had no siblings so Mark and Lucas were like little brothers to him. So what was this feeling?

“Anyway here’s the fan,” you shoved the bag into Mark’s hands, not caring that you had rudely interrupted whatever small talk was happening between the three of them. You just wanted them to leave, especially Lucas.

“Okay, okay, I get it, you two want to be alone,” Mark winked, giggling at his own joke, but you just rolled your eyes.

“Very funny, you know it’s not like that, now get lost,” you grumbled, turning your attention away from them and towards your books. Mark only shrugged, turning to walk away. Jaehyun dropped his gaze, hoping no one saw the hurt in his eyes.

“Bye, noona,” Lucas lightly touched your arm as he walked past you. You felt a shiver go up your spine at the contact, but you resolutely composed yourself.

“I told you to call me Y/N,” you responded firmly.

He only turned back to look at you, smiling widely. “I just like calling you ‘noona’,” he said, before walking away to join Mark.

You must have had the dumbest look on your face because Jaehyun just laughed, almost bitterly.

“Wow,” was all he said, shaking his head, no trace of his usual good spirits. He suddenly started packing up his books.

“Where are you going?” you asked, surprised at his sudden movements, “We’re not done with this chapter!”

“I suddenly lost my appetite,” he responded, not looking at you at all, “you got this, just call me if you have any problems.”

You watched his retreating back, wondering what had happened to put him in such a mood.

\---

The rest of the semester was tough, your professors were a lot harder on you and all of your courses were kicking your ass. Worst of all, your best friend and trusty study partner had ghosted you.

[How about tonight? Can you come by]

[Can’t, sorry]

[Come on I’m dying! I need help with this so bad!]

[You got this]

You pulled your hair in frustration, wanting to scream at Jaehyun’s sudden reticence. You’d confronted him about it in the one class you shared but he just shrugged, making some lame excuse about how the coursework was so much harder than he thought it was so he needed to concentrate. You had scoffed, knowing full well that was not the case for the ace student that he was. For as long as you’d known him he had always been the one who’d gotten the highest grades in every class he was in. You had persisted, trying to get it out of him but the professor had started speaking, and as soon as class had finished he’d left to talk to some other friends.

Maybe you two were drifting apart, and you hadn’t noticed, too busy with school and trying to avoid your feelings for Lucas. You shook your head at the thought of Lucas, but as if your thoughts could conjure him he suddenly appeared in front of you.

“Hi noona,” he whispered, cognizant of the bent over backs of the other students studying at the library around you. You gaped at him as he pulled out the chair across from you at the table you were at. “Is it okay if I sit here?” he asked innocently.

You swallowed the lump in your throat, fully aware that you should say no, but your head betrayed you and nodded at him. He smiled widely and your heart thumped in your chest.

“Thanks,” he said, taking a seat and spreading out his books, “the other tables were full, you really saved my life.”

You just nodded, trying to look anywhere but at his face, but he just kept smiling so charmingly you couldn’t help it. You’d sneak a look up at him now and then, and every time he would catch you and smile. The two of you didn’t talk very much, mostly because you didn’t want to disturb the quiet but also because you didn’t want whatever was happening to go any further. Lucas, however, had different expectations.

“Hey, if you’re not busy after this, maybe we can go for a coffee? Catch up? I feel like I haven’t really spent any time with you.” The smile he leveled at you this time was so dazzling you were momentarily blinded.

“Um,” you started, your brain short-circuiting, “I… uh… don’t think-”

“Aww, come on, noona! I haven’t seen you in so long! Please, just one coffee?” he made a face that resembled that one emoji you used so often that Jaehyun had it saved in his phone instead of your name.

You opened your mouth to say no, you had really meant to, your lips even forming the word, but he kept looking at you with that face and you knew you were done for.

“Sure,” you said in defeat, “just one, though.”

“Great!” he clapped his hands in glee, forgetting where he was, and when the people around him shot him dirty looks he slapped his hand over his mouth in a comically over-dramatic display. You couldn’t help but laugh, looking up just in time to see Jaehyun walking past your table. He stared between the two of you, not saying a word. You stood up to call him over but he turned away from you abruptly and walked away.

“Let’s go, noona,” Lucas called you, and you looked between him and your best friend, torn as to who to follow. You had to admit Jaehyun’s coldness towards you was hurting you, but you had reached out to him and he had shut you down. You packed up your stuff and followed Lucas to the cafe.

Later that night you got a text from Jaehyun:

[Remember our pact]

You wanted to throw your phone and scream at him for being so frustrating. You decided to ignore him, since that’s what he had been doing to you. You didn’t bother answering his text, and for the first time in your decade-long friendship you didn’t text him ‘good night’.

\---

“Hey, we have room, wanna ride home with us?”

It was winter break, and everyone who was going home was standing on the curb waiting for their pickup. You spotted Jaehyun, and even though the two of you still hadn’t spoken, you couldn’t help but offer. He started at the sound of your voice, almost smiled, before he shook his head.

“Thanks, but my dad is on his way,” he kicked at the ground with the toe of his shoe when you didn’t say anything in response, then finally looked away.

Truth be told, you were hurt. You’d been hurt since the day you two stopped talking, the day you went for coffee with Lucas. You had tried to keep your attention on Lucas, which wouldn’t have been too hard because he talked so animatedly, but your mind kept going over Jaehyun’s reaction when he saw the two of you. You couldn’t make sense of it, and you couldn’t make sense of his sudden disinterest. You had been friends for most of your lives, and he had never acted that way before. You finally settled on the fact that he probably didn’t want to be your friend anymore, college changes people after all, and his plans for after graduation were so grandiose and involved and probably definitely didn’t include you. A sadness had washed over you then, the two of you had been inseparable since middle school, you hadn’t gone a day without seeing him or speaking to him. The prospect of him not being in your life hurt you more than you would ever admit.

Turning away from him you loaded your bags into the trunk of your mom’s car, while Mark climbed into the passenger’s seat, excitedly relaying the details of his day-to-day to your ever-patient mom. You got into the backseat and closed your eyes, wanting to forget your college experience for a while.

\---

Four days into your break you couldn’t escape it.

“Honey, set three more places for dinner, the Jeongs are coming over.”

Your hand froze midway to placing the silverware on the table at your mom’s statement.

“Are you serious?” you asked in shock.

“What are you so surprised for? We always have them over during your breaks. Besides, I haven’t seen Jaehyun in months, I want to know how he’s doing in senior year.”

Your mom had unofficially adopted Jaehyun, when you were kids his parents had been busy with work, so he had spent a lot of time at your house. Your mom loved doting on him because he was so polite and well-mannered, almost an antithesis to the hellraiser that was your younger brother.

Dinner had been a calm affair, the parents speaking amongst themselves, while you picked at your food and Mark occasionally would start talking at breaks in the conversation. Jaehyun sat across from you, looking much more relaxed than he did at school. He was always polite around your parents, but you noticed he seemed lighter, freer, smiled and joked more. He even spared you a glance here and there, the corners of his mouth almost turning up into a smile.

“Oh mom, guess who’s going to our school now?” Mark suddenly burst out.

“Lucas is back, right? I spoke to his mom. That’s wonderful that you’re back together.” Your mom smiled fondly at your brother. At the mention of Lucas’ name you looked over at Jaehyun, who dropped his gaze, suddenly intensely preoccupied with his broccoli.

“Yeah! And I think he likes noona!” Mark looked at you while he said this, waggling his eyebrows. You smacked him hard in the arm.

“Not at all, that is  _ not _ happening,” you protested, shooting daggers with your eyes at your brother. He only shrugged, rubbing his arm where you had hit him.

“Whatever, I know you guys go on coffee dates and he texts you all the time! I see that stupid look on his face when he’s texting,” he screwed up his face and mimicked Lucas texting on his phone and everyone laughed. 

Everyone, except Jaehyun. He looked at you, with something like hurt in his eyes, before he looked away quickly.

“That is not true, we went on one coffee date,  _ one _ !” you emphasized the word by putting up your index finger, “and it is  _ not _ me he is texting all the time, trust me,” you added firmly.

Your mom just smiled. “I’m not opposed to Lucas, he’s a sweet boy,” she stated, “the only other boy I’d be happy about you dating is Jaehyun.” She smiled sweetly at him while his parents smiled at you, both nodding in approval.

Normally when she said things like this you would just roll your eyes at her, reminding her that you and Jaehyun were just friends, but this time you felt your palms get sweaty and your face felt warm. You looked over at Jaehyun and he still hadn’t looked up from his plate, but his ears were as red as the tomato sauce on the pasta.

“Am I the only one here who would be happy with no one dating?” your dad finally spoke up. “Not that I don’t approve of any of you, I just think senior year is hard enough as it is.” He shrugged, taking a sip of his wine while your mom patted him soothingly on the shoulder.

“Yes, yes, we’re not suggesting anything, merely stating our preferences.” She looked over at Jaehyun’s mom, the two of them sharing a conspiratorial smile.

\---

After dinner you and Jaehyun were tasked with doing the dishes, while the parents relaxed in the living room and Mark cleaned off the table.

“You, uh, missed a spot,” you held up the plate to Jaehyun, indicating the still soapy area with a sweep of your finger. He nodded and took it from you, passing it under the running water and handing it back. You dried it carefully, watching him as you did, the silence between you so heavy it felt like a weight on your chest.

“It’s nice being home, isn’t it?” you attempted conversation hesitantly.

He nodded, thankfully not ignoring you, and actually smiled to himself. “Yeah, really nice.”

You brightened at those three words, and at the fairly pleasant conversation you were having, the first in such a long time.

“Right? It feels so nice.” You agreed, unable to stop the wide smile forming on your face. He finally looked over at you and couldn’t help smiling himself.

“It feels good to be away from the pressures of-” he cleared his throat, “-uh, school.”

“Mm,” you nodded, feeling there was something in his tone you couldn’t place. Determined to ignore it and mend the rift in your friendship, you elbowed him lightly in the arm, “Hey, bet you can’t beat me in Mario Kart!”

He laughed, turning off the water and wiping his hands. “We’ll see.”

\---

You spent the rest of the break almost inseparable again, your friendship back to what it had been. The happiness you felt was indescribable, sometimes you even surprised yourself at the giddiness you would feel when you could spend time with him. You just figured it was the hurt you’d felt all those months finally being soothed away. Jaehyun was an important person in your life so naturally it would make sense that you would be happy that he was back in it.

On the last night of your break the two of you were sitting on the floor in your bedroom, laughing over old photos. After flipping through a few more, he came across a photo of you with one arm around Lucas and the other around Mark. The smile instantly left his face, and he quickly shoved the photo back in the box.

When you saw his reaction you suddenly felt defensive. “You know it really was just one coffee, it’s not like I was dating him so I didn’t break our pact.”

“Technically still a date.” He responded without looking at you, just shuffling photos around in the box haphazardly.

“Ugh! Fine! It was a stupid date, are you happy?” you threw the photos you were holding across the floor in exasperation. You felt your face heating up, an irrational anger overtaking you. In all the years you’d known him you didn’t remember being this upset at him and it surprised you.

He stayed silent, picking up the photos you had thrown and arranging them back in the box. In your anger you probably weren’t seeing things clearly, but when you looked at his face you thought he might have looked sad.

“It didn’t continue though, I can tell you that.” You don’t know why you felt the urge to be so defensive, why you felt the burning need to convince him there was nothing going on between you and Lucas. But when he finally nodded and looked at you, a small smile adorning his face, your heart suddenly felt lighter.

“Alright, you get off on a technicality,” he smiled, almost shyly, when he saw your face brighten.

“Good! Now are you gonna start helping me study again? I think I failed my midterms because of you,” you grumbled good-naturedly.

“I doubt that,” he chuckled, “you’re a lot better at studying than you think you are.”

\---

The second semester started where the first had left off, with a grueling workload that left your brain a mushy mess by the end of each day. You felt you handled it a lot better with your best friend by your side again, but when you got the results of your midterms you were shocked to see you had done better than you thought.

“I don’t want to say I told you so, but-” Jaehyun was looking over your shoulder as you saw your results, “I told you so.”

“Huh,” was all you could say. So all those late nights buried in your books, those solitary back-breaking hours in the library, they all paid off. You looked over at Jaehyun, who was smiling smugly at you. You realized that he had helped you, even though he hadn’t been around. Sometimes when your brain had enough you would think of him, how he would always encourage you when you were frustrated, how he would tell you silly stories and make you laugh when you needed a break.

“Thanks,” you said sincerely, starting to realize just what an effect your best friend had on your life. He shrugged, glancing away momentarily before he looked you in the eye.

“I didn’t really do anything, and actually I’m sorry for ghosting you when I did,” he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground, “that was really dumb of me.”

You were about to ask him what that was all about when you saw Mark and Lucas walking towards you.

“Hi noona!” they said in unison, accidentally it seemed as they both looked at each other in shock before dissolving into a fit of giggles. They nodded at Jaehyun who nodded back, ever polite, except he’d crossed his arms and puffed out his chest a little, looking almost intimidating.

“Hey guys,” you responded, irked at being interrupted since you were about to interrogate Jaehyun, “don’t you have class right now?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re on our way,” Mark rolled his eyes at you and tugged at Lucas’ arm, “let’s go dude.”

Lucas hadn’t taken his eyes off of you the entire time you were all standing there, and hesitated as Mark pulled at him.

“Hey, noona, can we meet up later?” he asked, and you had to admire him for his boldness and dedication, despite the fact that you had pretty much avoided him since your last coffee date.

“Uh, I’m kinda busy today,” you responded quickly, but he didn’t back down.

“Aw, how about tomorrow then? Please?”

You didn’t have to look at him to know that Jaehyun was burning a hole in your face with his eyes, and you could feel the sweat forming on your palms at the situation you were in. You wanted to curse Lucas out for doing this in front of an audience. As it was, Mark was watching the entire scene unfold with unbridled glee.

“Come on, noona, give him a chance!” Mark piped up, deciding to add to your agony. Lucas made that puppy-dog face that had swayed you the last time.

“Sorry, guys, but she’ll be busy for the rest of the semester,” Jaehyun suddenly spoke up, his tone broached no debate, “I’ll be making sure she’s studying.”

It was the last straw, you’d had enough with the three of them. “Ugh!” you exclaimed, balling your hands into fists, “I’ve had it!”

The three of them recoiled in shock at your outburst, a trio of wide eyes and open mouths that was almost comical if you weren’t so angry.

“You!” you pointed at Lucas, “I told you I’m busy so you need to accept my answer! And you!” you pointed in turn at your brother, “Mind your goddamn business!” He just shrugged and made a face, mimicking you yelling at him.

“And you!” you finally turned to Jaehyun, who was watching you with a mixture of admiration and fear, “I can speak for myself so stay out of it!”

You didn’t bother to stick around to see any of their reactions, just turning on your heel and walking away.

\---

You’d gotten texts for the rest of the day from both Lucas and Jaehyun apologizing but you weren’t in the mood to discuss the situation with either of them. Radio silence from your brother though, as expected. You were looking forward to spending some time alone anyway, so you trudged back to your dorm after a long day of classes. Walking towards your room you saw Lucas standing outside your door.

“Noona, don’t get mad,” he raised his hands up in supplication as you approached, “I just wanted to apologize and you weren’t responding to my texts.”

You sighed, too exhausted to be mad anymore. “It’s okay, Lucas. Thanks for coming by.” You walked by him to unlock your door, wanting to just collapse on your bed, but he stopped you, putting his six foot tall frame between you and your door. “Lucas, please, I’m tired.”

He bent his head towards you, eyes searching your face, eyebrows furrowed. “Noona,” he started, his voice soft, “do you like me?”

You were taken aback by the sudden question, and by his face now so close to yours.

“I mean, I hope you don’t still think of me as a kid,” he continued, eyes roaming towards your lips, “because I’m a man now.”

The line should have made you laugh, at any other time you would have, but something was drawing you towards him, and before you could stop yourself your lips met his.

It was only a brief touch, because you realized in that moment that you felt nothing, so you broke away quickly. The sound of the stairwell door opening broke the silence between you, and you turned to see Jaehyun standing in the open doorway. You’ll never forget the look on his face.

Sadness. Hurt.

“Jaehyun!” you called out, but he had already turned, his back to you as he disappeared down the stairs. Without a thought you ran after him, your heart beating out of your chest.

“Jaehyun! Please stop!” you yelled frantically as you raced down the stairs, but he was too far ahead of you and out the door before you could stop him. When you finally got down you opened the door to a downpour, and realizing you had no umbrella you stopped short. You could see Jaehyun walking away through the sheeting rain, and once again you called out to him.

“Jaehyun!” you shouted, your voice strained, “Please come back inside!”

He stopped at the sound of your voice and turned around, but made no move to come back. You couldn’t see his face from this distance but the dejected set of his shoulders told you all you needed to know. You stepped forward into the rain, determined to bring him back inside.

“Y/N, stop! You’ll get wet!” he ran towards you, arms outstretched, but you wouldn’t be deterred. When you reached him your emotions finally overcame you and you shoved him hard in the chest. It barely moved him, but he still looked at you in shock.

“Tell me why!” you yelled, unable to hold yourself back, “Why does it bother you so much? If he likes me or I like him? Huh?” you shoved him again, your anger and frustration taking over your rational mind, “It’s not just because of our stupid pact, so tell me what’s going on!”

He hadn’t said a thing, hadn’t even looked at you, had barely reacted when you pushed him. He just kept his head down, the rain running in rivulets down his hair.

“Jaehyun,” you tried again, pleading this time, your anger dissipating at the sight of him looking so defeated, drenched in rain, “Please, talk to me.”

He finally looked up, but not at you. Staring at something far in the distance he finally spoke, in a voice so low you had to strain to hear him over the patter of the rain, and a tone so despondent it made your heart ache.

“I like you, Y/N,” he sighed, “actually, screw it, I’m in love with you. I’ll admit it.” He dropped his head again, unwilling to look at you or see your reaction.

You, however, were glad he wasn’t looking at you, because your jaw dropped open in shock. But your brain took a little longer to catch up with your heart, because while you were putting the pieces together in your head, you felt a lightness in your chest, like a heavy weight had been lifted.

“Jaehyun?” you whispered, the puzzle pieces finally coming together. His actions finally made sense, but what had been even more enlightening was that your own feelings were starting to make sense as well.

“Come on, let’s go inside, you’ll get sick,” he put his hands over your head in a feeble attempt to protect you from the rain, and ushered you back inside the dorm. You walked back up the stairs in silence, and when you opened the door to your floor you were relieved to see Lucas was gone.

“Come inside,” you grabbed his hand since he had turned to leave, “you should dry off.”

He nodded, still not meeting your eyes, and followed you into your room. You grabbed a towel and handed it to him, grabbing one for yourself and squeezing the rain out of your hair.

“Thanks,” he said, rubbing the towel one last time over his head before handing it back to you, “I should go.”

You were about to answer him, but you were suddenly overcome by a violent shiver, your entire body shuddering from the damp cold of your rain-soaked clothes.

“Y/N!” he stepped towards you, eyes wide with alarm, “I told you not to come out in the rain!” he reprimanded you, taking the towel from you and rubbing it vigorously over your arms.

“I-I’m f-fine,” you tried to talk but your teeth were chattering too much so you just closed your mouth.

“You need to take off your wet clothes,” he grabbed a fluffy blanket from your bed, wrapped it around your shoulders and turned his head away, “I won’t look, I promise.”

At any other time you would be embarrassed, or throw him out of the room, but you knew he was right, and somehow you felt good about him being there for you. You stripped out of your clothes down to your bra and panties, as he held the blanket over you, finally feeling warmer as you wrapped the blanket around yourself.

“Better?” he asked, still not looking your way.

“Yes, thank you,” you said quietly, tugging at his arm to indicate he could turn around again. When he did, you noticed he was shivering.

“Oh Jaehyun! You need to get out of your wet clothes too!” you immediately ran to your closet and pulled out another warm blanket and draped it over him. You turned away to give him some privacy but he was struggling so much you ended up helping him, peeling away his water-logged hoodie and jeans. When he was down to his boxers you finally turned away, your cheeks flushed and heart pounding from the image of his bare chest and abs. You’d known him your entire life and had no idea he was hiding that.

_ Not the time to be thinking about that _ , you scolded yourself internally.

“Better?” you asked, not turning around because you felt your face was still hot and you didn’t want him to see.

“Uh, y-yeah,” he tried to lie but the stuttering betrayed him, and when you turned around you saw that he was still shivering, tugging the blanket tightly around himself, smiling weakly at you in a lame attempt to convince you that he was fine.

“Oh my god,” you immediately went into first-aid mode, recalling what you needed to do, “come here.” You opened your blanket and walked towards him.

“W-what are you d-doing?” his eyes grew wide and he actually pulled the blanket tighter around himself, like you were some kind of pervert coming to take his innocence.

“Relax, you need body heat,” you pulled at his blanket and he finally relented, opening it up to you and you stepped into his embrace.

It wasn’t supposed to feel good, you were only supplying him with much needed body heat, if anything it should have been embarrassing because you were both in your underwear, but you relaxed in his arms and it felt good. Really good.

You stood there in silence for a while, just the sound of his heart beating against your ear as you rested against his chest. You noticed he wasn’t shivering as much, but his skin was still really cold.

“Jaehyun, I think we need to get under the covers, you’re not warming up fast enough,” you didn’t look at him when you said it, you knew it would be awkward but it had to be done. He didn’t say anything for so long that you thought he hadn’t heard you, but he finally nodded and moved towards the bed. He got under the covers and you followed, wrapping your arms and legs around him and piling all the blankets on top of the both of you. It was hot and stuffy but you endured it, too worried about your best friend to care about anything else. Finally his teeth stopped chattering, his skin feeling less cold and clammy against yours.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” he said softly, staring up at the ceiling.

“I know, next time don’t go out in the rain like I told you!” you said sternly.

“No, not about that,” he sighed, “well, yeah that too. I just- I should have said something when I knew how I felt about you, save us from all this trouble, and- you know, me acting like a jerk.”

“Why didn’t you tell me then?” you turned your face to look at him, but he still wouldn’t meet your eyes, continuing to stare at the ceiling.

“I was scared, I guess. Scared you didn’t feel the same way, that you’d hate me, and then our friendship would be ruined and I didn’t want to lose you that way,” he blew out a long breath, “But I guess I ruined it anyway.”

“Nothing’s ruined, Jaehyun,” you said in a quiet voice, so low maybe he didn’t hear you. Except he had. He finally turned his head to look at you, but this time it was you who couldn’t meet his eyes.

“I wondered why I was so upset and angry, and  _ hurt _ , when you stopped talking to me, I mean, I’ve lost friends before and never felt like  _ that _ . And then over winter break when we started talking again, I felt so happy? You know? And so whole. Like I’d gotten back a part of me that I’d lost.” 

You stopped talking, relieved to have worked through your feelings and gotten it out in the open, but you suddenly became aware of how cringey everything you had said sounded. “Ugh, sorry, that was a lot.”

“Y/N, look at me,” his voice was still soft, but why had you never noticed how low his voice was? When you didn’t move, he gently tipped your chin so you were facing him. He looked at you like you’d hung the stars in the sky.

“Does this mean you like m-” he stopped mid-sentence, because you were drawn towards him, your face getting closer and closer to his. He stared wide-eyed for a moment, before he closed the distance and kissed you.

The stars and fireworks and weakened knees, and that heart-racing feeling you had expected when you kissed Lucas (and didn’t happen) actually happened this time. And then some. When his lips met yours you felt an electricity that spread throughout your entire body, all the way down to your toes. You felt a tenderness in the way his lips moved, an almost reverent form of adulation that made you crave more. Suddenly you were very aware of your near nakedness, as his now warm hand snaked around your bare back and pulled you closer to him. Everywhere your bare skin touched his felt like it was on fire, and it wasn’t from all of the blankets still stacked on top of you. When he pulled away you were panting, chest heaving, heat burning in your core.

“Y/N, I didn’t mean for this to happen,” his eyes searched yours, seemingly ready to give in if you decided to kick him out right then and there.

“You mean this wasn’t your plan? To go out and get drenched in the rain so we’d have to strip down to our underwear and cuddle for warmth?” you asked cheekily.

“Hmm, that did work out perfectly, didn’t it?” he laughed, and the deep rumble of it reverberated in your chest all the way down to your core.

“Jaehyun,” your breathing quickened, your body reacting to him almost involuntarily, “come here,” you pulled him so that he was on top of you, and he braced his arms on either side of you so that he didn’t rest his entire weight on you. You spread your legs so that he could nestle in between them, and when you felt him, already half-hard, against you, you bit your lip. He watched you, eyes dark, but still didn’t make a move.

“Y/N, are you sure?” he brushed strands of hair away from your face, eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you.

“I like you, Jaehyun. More than a friend. And right now I just want you.” To prove your point you wrapped your legs around him and squeezed, and it was his turn to inhale sharply as he felt you rub up against him. He dropped his head to your shoulder, kissing along your collarbone to your neck, and when you threaded your fingers through his hair, he sucked harshly on your skin. You moaned and he bucked his hips, your hands roamed his body until you reached the waistband of his boxers, which you tugged at until they were off. You reached around, wanting to feel his cock in your hand, your fingers wrapping around the hot, velvety skin.

“Y/N,” he groaned, pulling away from your neck to rest his forehead on your shoulder. You pumped his cock in your hand a few times, rubbing the pad of your thumb over the tip, spreading the precum around the head. He was breathing heavily as you worked your hand on him, before he reached down and yanked your panties off in one go. You squeaked a little at the sudden movement, but before you knew what was happening he was taking your hand off his cock, positioning the tip of it at your entrance.

“Jaehyun,” your voice cut off into a strangled cry as he entered you, tears pricking your eyes at the stretch and the intense pleasure you were feeling from it.

“Y/N,” he groaned again, pausing when he was all the way inside you, attacking your neck and jawline with kisses. He pulled back to look at you, eyes full of a mixture of adoration and lust. You touched his cheek, heart full at the sight of the boy you’d loved your entire life, pulling him down for a passionate kiss.

He returned your fervor with his own, with every movement of his lips you could feel his want, his need for you, his devotion. When you moaned into his mouth he bucked his hips, and you broke from his lips to gasp loudly as he began to thrust inside you.

“Jaehyun,” you moaned his name, biting your lip, slightly self-conscious at the needy whines that were escaping your mouth. But they seemed to encourage him, and with every sound of pleasure you made his intensity ramped up, until you could feel your orgasm building.

“Mm, I’m gonna c-” you couldn’t even finish your sentence, could barely warn him because your orgasm overtook you, after a particularly deep thrust that had pressed you hard into the mattress. He groaned loudly as you clenched around him, still thrusting, until he suddenly pulled you flush against him, holding you tightly as he came inside you.

You were both sweating, breathing heavily, but you knew in that moment that everything was as it should be. You turned your face towards his, currently buried in your shoulder, and kissed his cheek and along his jawline until he was smiling, causing his dimples to emerge. You kissed those too.

“You okay?” he asked, voice soft, pushing strands of damp hair away from your face.

“Very much okay,” you nodded, your heart and mind at peace.

\---

**Epilogue**

“Mm, Jae, we should get outside and join everyone...”

“Not yet, you smell too good, taste too good too.”

You stifled a moan as he sucked lightly on your neck, “No marks!” you smacked him on the chest, “I don’t want hickies in my grad photos!”

He laughed, nuzzling his nose in your neck instead, his hands on your hips under your gown. You’d been on your way to the graduation ceremony when you passed an empty classroom and he’d pulled you in for a quick makeout session. Except it hadn’t been quick, and now you were running late.

“Alright,” he sighed dramatically, “let’s go, wouldn’t want you to miss this important ceremony.” If it had been up to Jaehyun you would’ve both skipped the ceremony and gone to the beach instead, or just stayed in bed watching netflix. He didn’t care for ceremonies, he’d done his work and graduated, but he knew how important it was for you. You’d worked hard and wanted to celebrate it, with all of your friends and family by your side, especially Jaehyun. 

He adjusted the cap on your head, smiling fondly at you as you fiddled with your gown nervously. “You look great,” he reassured you, “perfect, I’d say.”

“Thanks,” you smiled at him, forgetting about your lip gloss and reaching up on your tiptoes for a kiss. “Oops!” you tried to wipe as much of it off with the pad of your thumb but he just laughed.

“Can’t be helped, let’s go,” he grabbed you by the hand and led you into the quad where the ceremony would be held. As you made your way to your seats you saw your brother and Lucas approaching.

“Hey guys, congrats, this is so cool!” as usual Mark was excited, looking around at everything with awe. Lucas stood beside him, smiling widely at the two of you.

“Hi noo-  _ Y/N _ ,” he corrected himself, then nodded at Jaehyun, “hyung,”

“Hi Lucas,” you smiled back at him.

“Congratulations on graduating,” he continued, looking between you and Jaehyun, “you guys worked hard.”

“Thanks Lucas,” you were genuinely thankful to him, he’d been really chill when you ended up telling him about you and Jaehyun, even winking at you and saying he’d had a suspicion about you and Jaehyun liking each other all along. You had just rolled your eyes at your own stupidity, how did everyone else see it except you?

“Yeah, thanks man,” Jaehyun seemed grateful too, shaking his hand and pulling him in for a bro hug. When they pulled away from each other you gave Lucas a hug as well, before you all took your seats for the ceremony.

\---

Later, long after the ceremony ended, you and Jaehyun sat in the empty bleachers as the sun began to set. He kept his arms around you as the early evening breeze began to pick up.

“So this is it,” you mused, looking around at the campus you’d spent four years of your life at. “The end.”

“Hm,” Jaehyun hummed, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“I guess we broke our pact,” you couldn’t help but smile at the irony.

“I guess so,” he laughed, “who’s stupid idea was that pact anyway?”

“Hey!” you smacked him on the knee, “it was a good idea at the time!”

He just laughed again, pulling you closer to him so that your back was flush against his chest. You settled like that for a moment, just content in his arms as he played with strands of your hair. “It all worked out in the end, though, didn’t it?”

You smiled, turning in his arms to face him. “It sure did.”


End file.
